Golden Rule Brake expands Valley store

 

Golden Rule Brake is close to finishing an expansion of its Spokane Valley facility at 815 N. Pines Road. Owner Dallas Low says the business has seen increased demand for its services, particularly within Spokane Valley. 

“Business is good, and that definitely warrants the need for this extra service space,” he says. “This expansion will also cut down on customer wait times.”

Lexington Commercial is the contractor for the project, which began in June and is set to finish this week. The project includes adding two service bays totaling 1,400 square feet to the building, which previously had 2,400 square feet of space and three service bays.

Low says the expansion also includes the addition of a lift with the capacity to hold larger vehicles for service operations. 

“This is a big part of this expansion for us, having an oversize area with a lift that can accommodate larger commercial vehicles like trucks and motor homes,” he says. 

Low is the third generation of his family to own and operate Golden Rule, which started in 1954. 

“I’m proud to be carrying on this legacy and happy we can continue to find ways of improving to better serve all of our loyal customers in this area,” he says. 

Golden Rule offers inspection, repair, and replacement of brakes, brake pads, cylinders, pistons, shocks, struts, constant velocity (CV) joints, ball joints, and tie rods, as well as tire alignments.  

Two other Golden Rule shops operate in the Spokane area, at 815 E. Francis and 625 N. Monroe.

—LeAnn Bjerken

 

Custom truck builder sets up Hayden shop

 

Rtech Fabrications, which specializes in restoring and custom fabricating 1967 to 1972 Chevrolet and GMC trucks, has opened a 6,500-square-foot shop in Hayden, at 11863 N. Tracey Road, after having moved the operation recently from smaller quarters in Spokane.

Rtech owner Randall Robertson says the ’67 to ’72 body style is the most sought-after style among classic Chevrolet truck enthusiasts.

Complete projects, built from the frame up, start at around $75,000 and can range in price up to $150,000, Robertson says.

“Basically it’s a brand new truck by the time we get done,” he says. “Every part is rebuilt.”

Rtech has one other employee, although Robertson says his goal is to expand the staff to five employees by the end of the year.

“There’s definitely the demand for it,” he says. “I have 11 builds going on and some can take a couple of years.”

He says he plans to start a training program to attract and hire military veterans.

Most of Rtech’s projects include major modifications and features that didn’t exist in the original models.

“They didn’t make a crew cab, but we manufacture a crew cab in that body style,” he says. “Were also building a stretch limo.”

Robertson, 51, says he  operated Rtech out of Spokane for about a year before moving to Hayden. “It was basically a hobby that turned into a business,” he says.

Commercial real estate brokers Craig Hunter and Rob Kannapien, both of Coeur d’Alene-based Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Commercial Realty, and Doug Byrd, of Byrd Real Estate Group LLC, of Spokane, negotiated the Rtech lease.

—Mike McLean

 

Second Nudo slated to open next month

 

Nudo Ramen House owner Jing Sun says her second Spokane restaurant is scheduled to open next month.

The restaurant will occupy 3,000 square feet of space and will be located at the Northpointe Plaza, at 9602 N. Newport Highway, in space that a Shakey’s Pizza Parlor restaurant formerly occupied.

Planning for a second Nudo location began in February, Sun says.

Nudo will share the building with Sweeto Burrito, which will occupy 2,700 square feet of space.

The original Nudo Ramen House is located in 3,600 square feet of space at 818 W. Sprague. It opened in May 2014. Only 1,800 square feet of that downtown space is dedicated to the restaurant on the main level with the remaining area in the basement used for office space, Sun says.

“Business has been really good. People like the food. When it first opened, I was really worried about whether Spokane would like it,” Sun says. “But people have responded very positively to what we make so we want to see if we can do it again in a new restaurant.”

Sun says Nudo currently is collecting and reviewing job applications. She expects the new restaurant to employ between 20 and 25 workers, with a mix of both part-time and full-time employees.

Sun also owns and operates Ginger Bistro, at 1228 S. Grand on the South Hill, and previously owned Wasabi Bistro, located on the North Side at 10208 N. Division, before selling the restaurant three years ago, she says.

—Kevin Blocker

 

Fall opening slated for Tomato Street

 

Tomato Street owner Dean Haynes says he plans to open his third restaurant during the first week of October in space that Rock City Grill previously occupied in the River Park Square shopping mall downtown.

The new restaurant will occupy 7,500 square feet of space. Remodeling of the former Rock City Grill space began Aug. 3, Haynes says.

“This is a golden opportunity for us downtown. Being in the downtown corridor—and the renovation of Riverfront Park across the street from us—gives us a prime location,” he says.

His North Side restaurant, located at 6220 N. Division, occupies 12,000 square feet and employs 100 workers. Haynes estimates the new restaurant will employ 75 people. He also co-owns a Tomato Street restaurant at 221 W. Appleway in Coeur d’Alene.

Haynes says Rock City Grill owner Jim Rhoades approached him near the beginning of the year and asked if he’d be interested in assuming Rock City Grill’s lease at the mall.

Rhoades, who co-owns Rock City Grill with his wife, Rose Rhoades, moved their restaurant to a 4,650-square-foot space at 2911 E. 57th. 

Haynes, debuted Tomato Street 22 years ago.

Of the River Park Square space, he says, “I wasn’t anticipating on making any major moves for another couple of years, but this was just too good to pass up.”

—Kevin Blocker